The Seattle Seahawks helped fill an immediate need with this pick. But more than that, they built a foundation for their future.
The Seattle Seahawks came into the 2025 NFL draft with more question marks than they've faced in several years. Yes, they've replaced quarterback Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett. But Sam Darnold has just one great year on a resume filled with mediocrity. Cooper Kupp hasn't played a full season since 2021. Marquez Valdes-Scantling hasn't been nearly as consistent as Metcalf.
Seattle moved on from Dre'Mont Jones as well. While Demarcus Lawrence should be a significant upgrade there, he missed 13 games last year. Hopefully, all four come through for the Seahawks.
Realistically, the chances of that happening aren't the best. Then there's the issue of atrocious guard play that's plagued the team for years. So John Schneider had several ways he could go with the first pick of the draft. Did he go for a guard?
Seahawks selection of Grey Zabel shows future of Anthony Bradford in Seattle could be dim
In a shocker, yes, John Schneider did indeed draft a guard. Okay, so Grey Zabel is a tackle. But he's projected by most of the talking heads to move inside for Seattle. The only question is whether he's going to move to guard or into the center position.
The Seahawks have a gaping hole at left guard with the departure of Laken Tomlinson. It's more likely that Zabel will step into that spot next to Charles Cross and seal off the blind side for Sam Darnold. While that doesn't directly affect Anthony Bradford, we all know that it will eventually.
Bradford has dreadfully underperformed for the Seahawks for two seasons now. Christian Haynes wasn't any better, but he was also a rookie. The same can be said for Olu Oluwatimi at center. All the buzz with new Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is that the offensive line will be running a zone-blocking scheme.
That's expected to fit Haynes and Oluwatimi much better than the previous scheme. For that matter, Zabel was rated better in a zone blocking scheme than gap-based schemes by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). So the addition of Zabel should also improve both Haynes and Olu.
The biggest shock, of course, is that John Schneider went for a player who will be on the interior line. His comments about the value of guards didn't help Seattle land a guard in free agency, that's for sure. Drafting a guard this high, though - I'd rather they moved back a few picks and nab Zabel in the early 20s. At pick 18, this guy better be the new Steve Hutchinson.